A few days ago, our “national broadcaster” attempted an “impartial” show on the SPFL “crisis” and whether or not it needed an investigation.
Amongst those interviewed were Neil McCann and Kris Boyd, who’s “opinions” on the issues can be quite easily surmised.
Yesterday, the same show attempted to debate the same issue … and this time it gave airtime to Sevco’s pet MP the Democratic Unionist Party’s Gregory Campbell.
The interview drew so much criticism, from so many quarters, that the shamefacedly didn’t include it on the podcast.
Whoever sanctioned it to begin with should be carpeted for it.
It sparked fury from many listeners and drew the ire of the ever-excellent Michael Stewart, who was on the show but later said on Twitter that he and others had been completely blindsided by it. I thought his choice of language was curious too; he talked about not supporting “de-platforming” people, which is a clear reference to Campbell’s social and political views which could only charitably be described as somewhat backward.
De-platforming, or no-platforming, is a term used by academic and media institutions in relation to denying airspace or a public profile to bigots. Examine Campbell’s previous statements and his voting record and it’s abundantly clear that’s what he is.
So why did the BBC see fit to invite this goon onto their show, and give legitimacy to him?
Because he has raised a parliamentary motion demanding an “independent inquiry” into the SPFL vote from two weeks ago.
Even as he was raising it – and it’s had no support outside of his pitiful co-sponsor, the Tory MP for Blackpool – the SPFL was announcing that it had asked the firm Deloitte to conduct and internal investigation, and they found no case to answer.
How many ways does this need to be spelled out? Clubs have come forward to deny that there was any kind of pressure. Dundee has repeatedly explained its position in relation to the vote. The SPFL has nothing to hide and no case to answer … Sevco’s alleged dossier of evidence has never been put in front of a single other party.
Now the Record is fixated on a call made to the chairman of Aberdeen, which doesn’t prove anything at all.
The call said that their vote hadn’t been properly counted. Aberdeen voted yes. So exactly what are the conspirators trying to allege here? That yes votes were suppressed as well? Aberdeen’s vote was eventually received on time, and went into the mix with the rest.
This is all just nonsense, and the BBC and other media outlets have allowed themselves to be led by the nose from Ibrox on this. It is embarrassing just how readily they’ve gone along with the narrative from that bonkers board over there.
But the BBC has a public service mandate.
Yet they have allowed bias to infuse every facet of this debate. They have allowed conspiracy theories to prosper over the true and simple facts.
80% plus of clubs support these measures.
It is a handful who are determined to wreck the general consensus.
Let us not forget that Sevco has demanded suspensions of key SPFL members, including the league body’s legal firm, and are questioning the SPFL chairman on alleged remarks that appeared in an ages old issue of Private Eye.
These are wild, paranoid fantasies, the kind that Sevco just love to indulge. It is shocking that the press is propping this up.
The tabloids have their excuse; their editorial suites are stocked full of those of a Sevco persuasion or who are over-dependent on that club and others for scraps of news. There are no real journalists in those rooms and it should be embarrassing to them that an Irishman with a press card – our own Phil Mac Giolla Bhain – does their job better than they do, and from the other side of the Irish Sea. The hacks here are a disgrace and always were.
But the BBC is supposed to be different.
It is supposed to be objective, but in Scotland it has proved over and over again that it gives equal weight to the “opinions” of both experts and lunatics, responsible citizens and paranoid fools, the intelligent and the idiots.
That is not balance. It distorts balance, and in this case they’ve put up a stone sectarian pushing an agenda and tried to present his as an unbiased view.
Shame on them for that, and especially when we have no choice but to pay for the license fee.
If that ever changes, I assure you that a lot of us will opt not to bother.
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